Mechanism for separating bound and unbound books



Dec. 15, 1959 H. w. FAEBER MECHANISM FOR SEPARATING BOUND AND UNBOUND BOOKS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec.

IN VEN TOR. HARRY W. FAEBER hi3: ATTORNEYS.

Dec. 15, 1959 H. w. FAEBER MECHANISM FOR SEPARATING BOUND AND UNBOUND BOOKS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 13, 1955 IN V EN TOR. HARRY W. FAEBER his ATTORNEYS.

Dec. 15, 1959 H. w. FAEBER 2,917,168

MECHANISM FOR SEPARATING BOUND AND UNBOUND BOOKS Filed Dec. 13, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 4. 27

INVENTOR. HARRY W. FAEBER BY /ibzw zjmm his AT TORNE Y5.

Dec. 15, 1959 H. w. FAEBER MECHANISM FOR SEPARATING BOUND AND UNBOUND BOOKS 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 13, 1955 FIG. 3.

INVENTOR. HARRY W.' FAEBER hi5 ATTORNEYS.

Dec. 15, 1959 H w. F'AEBER 2,

MECHANISM FOR SEPARATING BOUND AND UNBOUND BOOKS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 13, 1955 M4 FIG. 2

' INVENTOR.

HARRY, W. FAEBER BY I 5 n mwa iw his ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent IVIECHANISM FOR SEPARATING BOUND AND UNBOUND BOOKS Harry W. Faeber, Larchm'ont, N.Y., assignor to-Time, IYncorporated, New York, N.Y;,,a,corporation,of New ork.

Application. December-13,1955; SeriaLNo. 552,892

14 Claims. (Cl; 2095-72) Thisinvention relates .to machines for binding a plurality of signatures arranged inbook form, and more particularly to apparatus for separatingthe bound books from the unbound books and delivering thebound books to one. station and theunbound books toanother station.

The apparatus of thepresent invention is especially applicable, although by no means limited, to asystem for producing bound books in ,a. continuous operation whereina plurality of folded sheets or signatures are received on a continuously moving conveyor, one on-top of another and in proper sequence to make up asbookor booklet ready for binding, and the. books transported-by the conveyor to the binding apparatus atspaced intervals. The-binding machine binds togetherthe'signatures of the books thus deliveredby the movingconveyor if, the book is. properly assembled. If, however, the-bookds:improperly assembled and one or more'signatures are-absent; thatinformation is retained by a memory unit until'that bookis presented to the binding machine, :at which time the binding machine is rendered inoperative under the control of the memory unit, so thatzther-improperly assembled book is discharged from the bindingmachine un? bound.

The. conveyor mechanismfor: receiving the signatures from-the collating mechanismto formabook and transporting the. books to the binding machineis the subject of my copending application Serial No. 454,536, now-.Patent No; 2,810,468, filed September 7, 19.54, and thebinding machineiis the subject matter of my ;copending application Serial. No. 482,255, filed-January 17, 1955, now Patent No..2,827,632.

The books, whether bound or unbound;are transported by the conveyor to the book separating machine of the present invention. The books received from the conveyor one at. a time at spaced intervals; are advanced by driven:feed means .to a horizontal'support onto which the book is delivered in straddling fashion that istosay, with the centerfoldsignature open across the support: and theleavesthereofhanging downwardly on opposite sides. The book is thereafter raised and the upper folded edge thereof introduced between frictiondriving. members whichdeliver the book to a receiving stationor to a reject station depending upon the position-.ofa shiftable deflector gate, which position-determines which of the two paths thebook will follow.

The deflector gate. is normally locked in: position to guide the bound books onto aconveyor which delivers themultimately to the delivery station, however, the locking mechanism is released underthecontrol-of the memory unit when .an unbound book is presented to the book separating machine of the present invention, thereby shifting the deflector gate to its alternate position to guide be next book toward the reject station. The deflecor gate is thereafter restored to and'locked in its initial or normal position to guide subsequent books to the delivery station until another deflective unbound book is received.

-' -For'acomplete understanding of the present invention,

Fig. .1 is a rear elevation view. of the machine with parts.

broken away;

Fig.2 is a view-of the machine taken alongv theline.

2.-2 .ofFig. .1 looking inthe direction ofthe arrows;-

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view taken alongthe line 3-3 of Fig. 2, looking in the directionof thearrows;

Fig; 4 is an enlarged ,view takensubstantially along the line 44 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a partial end or side elevation view showing the mechanism for shifting the deflector gate;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a driven feed wheel shown'in Figs. 1 and 3, including the. supporting housing and part ofthe drivemeans therefonand 1 Fig.7 is a view taken along'the line 77 of Fig. 5, looking in'the direction of the arrows;

Referring to Fig. 1, the compilations of the signatures assembled in book form are transported from the binding machine, generally designated by the reference symbol A, onamovingconveyor Btwhich, at itsdelivery end, passesarou-ndupper and lower sprocket wheels B1 and B1 (see Fig. 3) mounted on the shafts-B2 andBS, respectively, before beginning the return'legof its .journey at a lower level: The conveyor Bis continuously moving, and as it isguided around the upper sprocket B1 on the shaftB2, the books.;carried thereby are delivered to the book handlingmrechanism C of the presentinventionwherein the bound and unbound books are sep-arated and delivered to different. stations:

The 1 frame structure ofthe 1 book handling mechanism Cof the-present invention comprises azbase C1,.a pair.- of vertically disposed frames" C2 ;'and: C3, and' transverse frames C4 extending. betweenuthe; upper ends 1Of"th6. frames C2 and C3.

The books. are carried:=by -the.conveyorin straddling fashion, that is to say, with thez'centen'signature ofthe book openacross. the conveyor, the folded edge above the conveyor and the leaves of. the signatures-hanging down-v wardly on opposite sides of the conveyor. The books carried by the movingconveyor. are f'delivered to theinclined guide 10 (see'Fig. 3) which'forms the receiving end of a horizontalsupport 13. The .bookireceiving support 13, as best shown in Fig. 4, is formed by. a pair of spaced apart plates 14, 15, the upper ends 14a and'15a whichextend toward each other, the extreme upper .endsthereof being separated by agap.

The books are received bysthepinclined guide :10'1in straddling fashion, and the leading edge of a bookso received is guided thereby between the driven friction wheels 11, 12 which discharge the book forwardly'across the support 13 until the leading edgetof'the book engages the stop 16 at the opposite end of the: support."

The lower friction wheel 12, as best shown in Figs. -3 and 4, is supported rotatably on afixed-shaft 18 extend: ing from a vertically upstanding'bracket' 19 mounted'to the side frame C3. The friction wheel; 12 is disposed, at least in part, between the plates 14, 15 ofthe book receiving support 13. The wheel 12 is formed in'two parts 12a and 12b,and the outer. peripheries of the'parts 12a and 12b have friction:surfaces-whichtaper'in opposite directlons.

The friction wheel 12.is' driven by an electric motor 20 mounted on .thebase-Cl of the mainframe structure. As best shown in Figs.v l, 2 and 4, the motor 20 drives a shaft 21 through an'adjustable variable .speed device 20a. The shaft 21 carries a :sprocket '22 :thereon, and the sprocket 22 drives a sprocket 25..carried by a rotatable shaft'26, the drive being transmitted by a chain 24 which engages both sprockets 22,-.25- The. shaft 26:is, .journaled in bearings of the bracket 19 and a bracket 26a attached to the'frame C3. The shaft'26 carries a sprocket wheel PatentedDec. 15, ,1 959 27 thereon which sprocket engages the lower end of a closed chain 28, and the upper end of the chain 28 engages a sprocket 29 on the hub of friction wheel 12 so thatfthe chain 28 transmits the drive from the shaft 26 to the friction wheel 12.

The upper friction wheel :11, like ,the lower friction wheel 12, is formed in two parts 11a and 11b separated by a gear 42. Parts 11a, 11b and 42 form one rigid member mounted rotatably on fixed shaft 30. The outer periphery of the parts 11a and 11b, as best shown in Fig. 4, are tapered oppositely to the taper of the periphery of the parts 12a, 12b of the friction wheel 12. These tapered friction surfaces of the driven wheels 11, 12 effectively grip the books presented therebetween and advance the book across the support 13 into contact with the stop 16.

Shaft 30 is supported between a pair of pivotal arms or plates 31, 32, the pivotal movement of which permits the driven upper friction wheel 11 to engage the lower friction wheel 12 and to be raised away from the friction wheel 12 when a book is passing therebetween. When the wheels 11, 12 are in contact, the part 11a of the wheel frictionally engages the part 12a of the wheel 12, and the part 11b frictionally engages the part 12b. As best shown in Fig. 4, plates 31, 32 are pivotally mounted on a shaft 33 supported at opposite ends between brackets 34 and 35 aflixed to the frame C3 of the machine.

The friction wheel 11 is also driven from the motor 20'by a drive transmission which includes the adjustable variable speed mechanism 20a, the driven shaft 21, the sprocket 22, the chain 24 driven by the sprocket 22, the sprocket 25, the rotatable shaft 26 which carries the sprocket 25, a sprocket wheel 38 carried by the shaft 26 (see Fig. 4), a chain 39 driven by the sprocket 38, a sprocket wheel 40 mounted on the rotatable shaft 33, a gear 41 also supported on the shaft 33, and the gear 42 mounted on the shaft 30, the gear 42, as mentioned above being rigidly connected to the parts 11a, 11b of the friction wheel 11.

Thus, by means of this arrangement, the friction wheel 11 may be moved toward and away from the friction wheel 12, the plates 31, 32 pivoting on the shaft 33, while, nevertheless, maintaining the drive transmission thereto.

The friction wheel 11, however, is normally urged towards the lower friction wheel 12 by a spring 44 (see Fig. 3). The spring 44 is supported on a rod 45 which is pivotally attached at one end to the side frame C3. The pivotal plates 31, 32 are formed with upstanding projections 31a, 32a which are connected together by block 31b to receive the free end of the rod 45. The spring 44 supported on the rod 45 is compressed between the side frame C3 and the block 31b, urging this block and thus projections 31a and 32a in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 3 to maintain the friction wheel 11 in pressure engagement with the friction wheel 12. The spring pressure is, however, yieldable to permit the upper friction wheel to be raised when a book is presented therebetween. Wing nut 45a serves to adjust the gap between friction wheels 11 and 12 in accordance with the thickness of the books.

The book is advanced across the book receiving support with sufiicient thrust by the driven friction wheels 11, 12 to insure that the leading edge of the book will come into contact with a stop 16 which registers the position of the delivered book on the support 13. The stop 16 is slidably supported on a rod 46, the end of which is mounted to the side frame C2, and the stop 16 may be adjusted at the desired position along the rod and locked in that position by tightening a screw 48 carried by the slidable stop which engages the rod 46.

The book thus delivered to the horizontal support 13 is, at the appropriate time in the machine cycle, raised by a plurality of upstanding finger elements 49 and introduced between a plurality of feed rolls 9t), 92. As

4 a best shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the finger elements 49 ar all mounted at their lower ends and at spaced intervals from each other to a horizontal supporting bar 50, and the bar and the upstanding finger elements are accommodated between the plates 14 and 15 of the horizontal support 13. The horizontal supporting bar 50, in turn, is supported by a pair of vertically movable rods 51, 52 which are guided at their upper ends (see Fig. 3) in sleeves 54 accommodated within vertical bores of a horizontal cross piece 55 and at their lower ends in flanged cylindrical guides 56.

The vertically disposed rods 51, 52 are hollow and accommodate therein compression springs 58 which urge the rods, and hence also the vertically disposed finger elements 49, upwardly. The position of the rods 51, 52, however, is determined by the engagement of the blocks 66 affixed to the rods with pivotal arms 69 which are mounted to a transverse shaft 61.

The rods 51, 52 are normally maintained by the arms 60 in lowermost positions, and the upper ends of the finger elements 49 are, therefore, retracted beneath the upper ends 14a, 15a of the plates 14, 15 out of the way of incoming books received by the support 13. When it is desired to lift a book which has been delivered to the support 13, the operative ends of the levers 60 are raised, and the compression springs 58 will cause the rods to follow the levers, raising the upper ends of the finger elements 49 into engagement with the folded edge of the center signature of the book. The book is thus raised in straddling fashion, and the folded edge of the cover is presented between the feed rolls 90, 92.

The cylindrical guides 56 are vented at the bottom to avoid impeding the strokes of the rods 51, 52.

The transverse rock shaft 61 which supports the arms 60 extends between the side frames C2 and C3 and is rotatably supported thereby. Reciprocation is imparted to the rock shaft 61 by a cam 64 which engages a cam follower 65 of a lever 62 mounted on the rock shaft 61. The engagement of the cam follower 65 with the high surface of the cam 64 maintains the rock shaft 61 and the arms 60 mounted thereon in a counterclockwise position, as viewed in Fig. 2, in which position the engagement of the free ends of the arms 60 with the blocks 66 maintains the rods depressed. When, however, the cam follower comes into contact with depression 64a of the cam 64, the arms 60 are pivoted in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figs. 2, and the compression springs 58 accommodated within the hollow rods 51, 52 raise the rods upwardly, thereby lifting the finger elements 49 into contact with the folded edge of the center signature of the book which is in straddling position across the horizontal support 13.

The cam 64 is supported on a rotatable shaft 70, and the shaft 70 is supported at opposite ends in bearings of the side frames C2 and C3 of this machine. The shaft 70 is driven by means of a gear transmission from the main drive shaft 71 of the machine. The gear transmission, as best shown in Fig. 2, includes a gear 72 mounted on the shaft 71, a gear 74 mounted on a rotatable shaft 75 and enmeshed with the gear 72, a gear 76 also mounted on the shaft 75, a gear 78 supported on a shaft 79 and enmeshed with the gear 76, and a gear 80 mounted on the shaft 70 enmeshed with the gear 78. The entire gear transmission described above is mounted outboard of the side frame C3.

It may be mentioned at this point that the shaft 71 can be easily removed as follows.

asthma sprocket B1 is driven by insane 133' threu' ha clutch arrangement which will be described in 'more detail below.

As best shown in Fig. 2, the upward movement of the finger elements 49 lifts the book above the=horizontal support 13 and delivers the folded edge'or backbone of the cover or outside signature of the book between a pluralityof feed rolls 90 mounted on the shaft 91 and a plurality of feed rolls 92 mounted on the shaft 94. The feed rolls 90, 92 are provided with friction bands 95 around the outer peripheriesthereof, and'these friction bands engage and drive the bookpresented therebetween upwardly onto either the conveyor belt 98 or the conveyor belt 99. A plurality of shiftable deflector'gates 96 supported from above by a rock shaft 97 engage the leading edge of the book fed upwardly by the feed rolls 90, 92, and the position of the deflector gates determines onto which of the conveyor belts the book will be delivered. a

Each of the deflector gates 96 is provided with a curved concave surface 96a on one-side, a"cur'ved 'concave surface 96b on the other side, and a lower" pointed tip 96c formed by the intersection of the surfaces96a and'96b. In one position of the shaft 97, the surfaces 96a of the deflector gates 96 are presented to the upwardly moving book, with the result that the book is guided by the curved surface onto the conveyor belt 98. In the other position of the shaft 97, the surfaces 96b of the deflector gates 96 are presented to the upwardly moving book with the result that the book isguid'ed by thecu'rved surfaces onto the conveyor belt 99.

Normally, the deflector gates are positioned, as shown in Fig. 2, to guide the books onto the conveyor belt 98 which transports the books to a delivery station. However, when a book which has been improperly assembled is received, the rock shaft 97 is rotated in such manner as to pivot the deflector gates 96 to a clockwise position, as viewed in Fig. 2, in which position the lower ends 960 will be moved to the left of the path of travel of the book between the feed rolls 90, 92, and the book will be guided by the curved surface 96b of the deflector gate onto the conveyor belt 99 which delivers the book to a reject station. Here the book may be inspected and assembled properly. Meanwhile, the rock shaft 97 and deflector gates 96 are returned automatically to their initial positions, in which positions the gates serve to' guide the books to the conveyor belt 98, until another improperly assembled book is received by the machine. The deflector gate shaft 97'is installed'sothat it may be easily removed to increase accessibility of the operating parts of the machine and to clean out choke-ups. Accordingly, the deflector gate shaft 87 is adapted to be connected to shaft extension 97a by coupling 970 (see Fig. 1). The shaft 97 is formed with square end 971') which is received in a square hole at one end i of the coupling 97c, and the extension 97a is formed with a square end which is received in the square hole at the other end of the coupling 970. The coupling 970 is held in position between the square end of the shaft 97 and its respective extension 97a by set screws (not-shown). The shaft 97 is supported at the end next to coupling 970 in a semicylindrical bore of a bracket 97d, and the bracket 97d is equipped with a hinged cap 97a, also having a semicylindrical bore. The cap may be locked in place by a wing nut 97 'which threadably engages a pivotal bolt or screw upstanding from the bracket 97a. Theoth'er end of shaft 97 is similarly supported at 97g. With the shaft 97 supported in this fashion, the shaft The wing'nuts 97) may be loosened from the bolts, and the caps 97@ pivoted 'r'earwardly to open position. The set screws which hold couplings 97c in place may be loosened, and the coupling slidably'movedalong the extension shaft 970 toward the side frame C2 thus "disengaging the square endl' of the shaft 97. When this-is done the shaft 97 can ne lifted-off the brackets 97d and 97g andrentoved The axes of the shafts 9'1, 94 which carrythe" feedrolls 90,92, respectively, are supported for movement toward and away from each other to permit the rollsto be'moved toward and away from each other, however, the axes of the shafts are spring-urged toward each other toprovidepressure engagement of the feed rolls 90,92 against a book therebetween. Accordingly, as best shown in Figs. 4 and 7, the-shaft 94 which supports the feed rolls'92, is supported at both ends between arms 100; and the arms '100'are pivotally mounted on shafts101 attached to the-side'frames C2 and C3 of the machine. Also; the-shaft 91- which supports the feed rolls thereon is" also supported at opposite ends between arms 102, and the arms 102 are pivoted on shafts 104 mounted to the side frames C2 and C3 of the machine.

The arms and 102 are provided with extensions 100i: "and 102a, and'the-extensions 100a and 102a are each pivotally'connected to the lower ends of rods 105. Thehpper ends of the rods 105 engage holes in blocks 106 affixed to the side frames C2 and C3. The rods 105 carry compression springs 108 thereon, and the upper ends of therods 105 are threaded to receive adjustable wing nuts 109; The compression springs 108 are compressed between the blocks 106 and set screw collars 105a mounted on the rods 105. The compression springs 108 of the respective arms 100,102 serve to pivot the axes of the arms'toward each other to insure that a book presented betweenthe feed rolls 90, 92 will be frictionally engaged thereby. It is evident, of course, that by adjusting the 'coilars105a thepressu're-exerted by the feed rolls 90, 92 onthe books therebetween'may be adjusted. To-accommodatebook's of different thickness, the gap between rolls 90 "and 92"is adjusted by means of wing nuts 109.

The feed rolls 90, 92 are driven by a'transmission from the rotating shaft 70 whichsupports the cam 64 thereon. The drive-transmission from the drive shaft 71 to'shaft 70 has beendescribed' above. As best shown in Fig. 2, the extreme end of the shaft 70 carries a sprocket 110 which drives a sprocket wheel 111 supported on the shaft 104 by means of a chain 112 which engages both sprocket wheels. As best shown in Fig. 4, the shaft 104 also carries a gear 114 which meshes with a gear 115 of the shaft 91. Accordingly, this drive transmission imparts rotation to the shaft 91, driving the feed rolls '90 supported thereon.

V The shaft 94 supporting the-feed rolls 92 is driven from the gear 114 byta transmission which includes the gear 118 carried on the shaft 101 and meshing with the gear 114, and a gear 119 carried at the extreme end of the shaft 94 meshing with the gear 118. The elements comprising the 'drive transmission for the shafts 91, 94 above described are mounted outboard of the side frame C3.

The signatures deflected to the left, as viewed in Fig. 2, and carried by the conveyor'belt 98 toward the delivery station, pass underen'eath a plurality of driven friction wheels 120, and the books deflected toward the right, as viewed in that figure, pass underneath similar driven frict'ion Wheels 121. The supporting structure and the drive means for the friction wheels 120 and 121 are identical, so that a description of the supporting structure and driving means for one of the friction wheels 121 will su'flice for an understanding of the structure and operating parts for the friction wheels 120.

Referring to Fig. 6, each of the friction wheels 121 issupported on a shaft 124 extending outwardly of a housing- 125. Thehousings 1 25 are pivotally supported driventransmission which-includes a gear 133 mounted 7 on shaft 133a and in mesh with the gear 137, and a gear 123' on the shaft 124 in mesh with the gear 133.

The extreme end of each of the two shafts 126 carries a gear 130 (see Fig. 4) mounted thereon outboard of the side frame C3. Each of the gears 130, in turn, meshes with an idler gear 131 mounted on the shaft 132. The idler gear 131 which drives the friction wheels 120 is driven by the gear 118 on the shaft 101, and the idler gear 131 which drives the friction wheels 121 is driven by the gear 114 on the shaft 104. As described above, the gears 114 and 118 are driven via the chain 112 by a drive transmission from the drive shaft 71.

The driven friction wheels 120 and 121 serve to guide and to advance the books which are being conveyed by the belts 98 and 99, respectively. At least one of the friction wheels 120 and at least one of the friction wheels 121 also have a further function, namely, to detect a pile-up of books on its respective conveyor. If any such difficulty occurs beneath the friction wheels 120, 121, the said friction wheels are raised, which action serves to actuate one of the switches 136. There is a switch 136 mounted on a platform 137 above each of the transverse frames C4 of the machine. The operation of either of the switches 136 will stop the entire machine by actuating the stop circuit of its main electric motor drive in the conventional manner, thereby stopping the further feed of books to the delivery machine C.

Each of the switches 136 is adapted to be actuated by a cam member 140 which is mounted at its lower end to the upstanding portion 125a of the housing 125 of the friction wheel which serves to detect a pile-up. In the embodiment shown in the drawings, there are three friction wheels 120 and three friction wheels 121, and in each case the center friction wheel serves as the detector to actuate the switch 136.

The extreme upper ends of the upstanding portions 125a of the housings 125 for the friction wheels 120, 121, as best shown in Fig. 2, are provided with slots which receive the ends of rods 142. The rods 142 are pivotally mounted from shafts 144 supported by brackets 145 above each of the transverse frame C4 of the machine. The rods 142 accommodate compression springs 149 thereon, and the compression springs normally urge the upper ends of the upstanding portions 125a of the housings 125 in such fashion as to maintain the friction wheels 120, 121 in pressure contact with the books passing thereunder.

'When a pile-up occurs beneath either of the friction wheels 120, 121 and the respective switch 136 is actuated by the cam member 140, the conveyor is stopped as described above and no more books will be delivered to the machine C until the trouble is corrected.

The driving sprocket B1 is connected to the clutch disc 152, which is driven via the shaft B3 only by the engagement of a spring pressed plunger 151 accommodated within the housing 151a mounted fixedly on the shaft B3 with a depression or hole in the disc 152. Should an overload occur due to a pile-up or choke-up of signatures, the spring of plunger 151 will yield, the plunger 151 will be disengaged from disc 152, and the drive transmission to the sprocket B1 will be disconnected, thereby stopping the operation of the conveyor B. As plunger 151 retracts, it carries limit switch actuator 150 to the left as shown in Fig. 2, which trips limit switch 138 and thus stops the entire machine, which then cannot be restarted until plunger 151 re-engages on disc 152 and thus actuator 150 clears the limit switch 138.

It has been mentioned above that the binding machine A is rendered inoperative by a memory unit when a book containing missing signatures is presented thereto, and it is a function of the present machine to separate the bound books from the unbound books. When an unbound book is received by the machine, the very same memory unit which prevented the operation of the binding machine will also cause the deflector gates 96 to be pivotally shifted :to guide the unbound book onto the belt 99 which will deliver the book to a reject station. This pivotal opera: tion of the deflector gates 96 is controlled by a lever 164 pivotally mounted at 165 to the side frame C2 of the machine carrying a cam follower roller 166 which normally contacts only the high surface of the rotating cam 160 mounted on the shaft 161 (see Fig. 5).

The pivotal lever 164 is connected by means of a rod 168 to an arm 169 fixedly mounted at the extreme end of the shaft 97a, the extension to the shaft 97 which supports the deflector gates 96. The deflector gates 96, however, are normally locked in the position shown in Fig. 2, that is to say, the position in which they guide the books onto the conveyor belt 98, by a pivotal latch 170 (see Fig. 5). The pivotal latch 170 is spring urged into engagement with a shoulder formed on a collar 171 of a rod 172. The upper end of the rod 172 is pivotally connected to the lever 164. The rod 172 is guided for axial movement within the hole of bracket 174, while bracket 174a has a clearance hole and serves as an abutment for spring 181. These brackets are mounted to the outboard side of the frame C2 of the machine. The

latch 170 is normally urged about its pivot 170a to engage the collar 171 by a compression spring 175 seated on a rod 176, which rod is pivotally connected at one end to the latch 170 and guided for sliding movement at its other end within a hole of a bracket 178 attached to the side frame C2 of the machine. The compression spring 175 is accommodated between the bracket 178 and a collar on the rod 176.

The latch 170, however, is also connected to the movable armature 180 of a solenoid 179. Upon actuation of the solenoid 179, the latch 170 is pivoted out of engagement with the collar 171. The release of the latch 170 permits a compression spring 181 supported on the rod 172 between the collar 182 and the upper guide bracket 174a to urge the rod 172 upwardly, thus urging the gate 96 towards the reject position and causing the cam follower roller 166 to drop into contact with the cam 160. The timing of cam 160 is such that it allows'cam follower 166 to drop causing lever 164 to rotate clockwise (Fig. 5) and thus switching the gate 96 to the reject position during the interval between the passage of 2 signatures. Cam 160 makes one revolution per signature. Before the completion of the'cycle of rotation of the cam 160, the cam follower roller 166 comes into contact with a high surface of the cam, thereby returning the deflector gates 96 to their normal position to guide subsequent books onto the conveyor belt 98, and also rotating the lever 164 in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 5, moving the rod 172 downwardly until the collar 171 is once again engaged by the spring urged latch 170. The latch 170 locks the deflector gates 96 in this position until the solenoid 171 is once again energized.

The conveyor belts 98 which deliver the bound books to a delivery station are driven by the feed rolls 92, and these belts partially encircle the feed rolls 92 at the receiving end and rolls 98a at the delivery end. Also, the belts 99 which deliver the unbound books to a reject station are driven by the feed rolls 90, and they partially encircle the feed rolls 90 at their receiving end and rolls 99a at their delivery end. Adjustable arms pivotally mounted on transverse shafts 192 carry rolls 191 which engage the lower lengths of the belts 98and 99 to take up slack in the belts.

Summarizing the operation of the machine, the books are delivered from the binding or stitching machine A by a conveyor B, and the conveyor B delivers the books onto an inclined guide 10 in straddling fashion. The leading edge of the book is presented between the friction wheels 11, 12 which slide the book across the horizontal support 13 until the book engages the adjustable stop 16 at the remote end of the horizontal support 13. The book is thus supported on the horizontal support 13 until the appropriate time in the machine cycle, at which time the: cam follower roller 65 of the lever 62 comes into'contact with the, depression64a-of the cam: 64,'thereby=raising the 6fl'andpermitting the compression-springsSS housed within the hollow rods 51, 513 to raise the finger elements 49upwardly between the plates 14,15 of the support-13- and into contact with'the book supported thereon. The finger elements 49 raise the book'and present it between the driven feed rolls 90, 92.

Thefeed rolls, 90,} 92 frictionally advance the book npwardly,, and if the deflector gates 96 are in theid nor mal"positions,-the book will'be guided by the curved surfaces 960; beneath the driven friction wheels 120 and transported by the conveyor belt 98 to a station where the books are gathered, stacked, and packed-forshipment. whemhowever, an unstitched or an unbound book is receivedfthe solenoid'179 is momentarily operated, shifting thedeflector gates 96 so that-the-surfaces 96b thereof are-presented to the-book as-it is fe'dupwardly between the-feed'rolls'90;92." This surface guideszthe bookbe neath the driven friction wheels 121 after. which itwill beearried by the conveyor belt 99 to a=reject station, at whichstation-the books may be inspected, properly assembled and thereafter bound.

As a safety feature-ofthe present-invention, thedriven frictionwheels- 120-and 121 are yieldingly supported 'to engage and help' advance the bookspassing beneaththem, but in the event of a jam-up, or inthe event thatmore than-a single book is deliveredthereunder, atleast one of the friction wheels and its-housing will be raised, bringing thecammember 140 into contactwith one of the switches 136'. The actuation'of' the switch operates the stopcircuityof the electric motor. drive'of the entire machine. Thus the. delivery: of books to the book. receiving machine (2 willibe-stopped untilthedifl rcultyhasbeen corrected.

It will be noted; that the main drive shaft 710 f .the machinez.:;serves asrthe drive-for most;- of. the. operating parts; butrnotforthe frictionwheels 11,112. A separate motor20 is provided for this-purpose to permit .the frictionrwheels.-11, 12 to continuezto. operate even'after the machineshas been stopped, thus. preventing a book from comingto rest between the, friction wheels 11, 12. Were this-:to happen, it is vpossiblepthat in starting up again the book. would'not be discharged-by the. friction Wheels .11, 1:2 .withnuificient momentum to :insurethe. registration of thebookagainstthe;stop 16. I

As explained above, thedrivefromthe motor .20 to the friction wheels 11, 12 is transmitted through the variable speedtdevice 20m. In this way,:the. variable speed device can be-adjusted so that thevsurface; speed of the friction wheels 11, 12 is slightly greater than the speed of the book conveyorB'whichpresents the books to th wheels 11, 12-.- j

The-present invention-has been--shownand described in a Singlepreferredform'and by wayof example only, and obviously many'modifieations-and variations may be made therein without departing-from-the spirit of the invention. Th'ein vent-ion, therefore,-is'notto be limited to any specified form or embodiment, except insofar as such limitations are set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for handling signatures comprising a horizontal support for receiving folded signatures in straddling fashion with the apex of the folded edge at the top, a moving conveyor for feeding the signatures in straddling fashion toward the horizontal support, feed rolls above the horizontal support, means for raising signatures above the horizontal support and presenting the signatures to the feed rolls, at least two conveyors, a deflector gate having at least two signature guiding surfaces thereon, said deflector gate in one position guiding signatures fed by the feed rolls to one conveyor and in another position guiding signatures fed by the feed rolls to the other conveyor, and a pair of feed rolls stationed to receive signatures in straddling fashion from said conveyor and advance them into position on said horizontal support, the outer peripheries of said feed rolls being 1'0 tapered in complementary fashion to each otheranddo the surfacesof the signatures which-they engage-'on-both sides of the folded edge;

2. Apparatus for handling signaturesas set'fortlrin claim 1 including a rock shaft supporting a plurality of deflector gates thereon, means for locking said shaft in position to normally guide the signatures toward one conveyor, means to release said locking means, and means to rotate the shaft to shift the deflector gates to a position at" which they will guide the'signatures toward theother conveyor.

3. Apparatus for handling signatures as set forth in claim 1 including a machine frame, a rock shaft supporting a plurality of deflector gates thereon, extension shafts at both ends of said rock shaft, said extension shafts being supported for rotation in bearings of the machine frame, said extension shafts and said rock shaft being supported end to end, and a slidable coupling'connecting the rock shaft and the extension'shaft', the arrangement'permitt'ing the-rock shaft and the deflector gates supported thereon robe-removed to provide access to the operating parts of the signature handling apparatus;

4.-- Apparatus for handling signatures as set forth in claim 1 including driven rotatable guide means above each of said'conveyors, a drive transmission for driving the said rotatable guide means, and means formsupporting the rotatable guide means for movement away from the conveyor while maintaining said drive transmission thereto.

5. Apparatus for handling signatures as set-forth in claim -4 including means actuated by the movementofthe rotatable guide means away from the conveyonsuch 'as when-a pile-up occurs, to stop the further feed of signatures to the horizontal support.

6; Apparatus for handling: signatures comprising a signature-receiving support, driven'feed rolls above the support, signature lifting means for raising the signatures above the support and presentingthem between the feed rolls, a rock shaft supported above the feed rolls, a deflector gate depending from the rock shaft for determining the path of the signatures discharged from the feed rolls, a pivoted lever for controlling the operation of the rock shaft, means connecting said pivotal lever andsaid rock shaft, spring means urging the pivotal lever in one direction to urge therock shaft andthe deflector gate to a shifted position, latch means for locking the lever against said spring means, thereby maintaining the rock'shaft'and the deflector gate in normal position, means for releasing the latch means to permit the spring means to shiftthe de" flector gate to shifted position for a complete cycle of the machine, and means'for returning the pivotal'lever' to a position for reengagement in the 'said latch means.

'7;"Apparatus"f0r handling signatures as set forth in c1aim'6 including a moving conveyor belt'fortransporting thesignatures to a delivery station, said conveyor belt engaging and being driven by one of said driven feed rolls, and a moving conveyor belt for transporting the signatures to a reject station, said conveyor belt engaging and being driven by the other of said feed rolls.

8. Apparatus for handling signatures as set forth in claim 6 including extension shafts rotatably mounted at both ends of the rock shaft, couplings for coupling the rock shaft to the extension shafts, said couplings being slidable to an uncoupling position, means for supporting the rock shaft, and releasable means for permitting the rock shaft to be removed from the supporting means when the couplings are moved to uncoupling position.

9. Apparatus for handling signatures comprising a conveyor for transporting folded signatures in straddling fashion thereon, signature receiving means for receiving the signatures delivered by the conveyor, said signature receiving means having a receiving end in proximity to the conveyor and an end remote from the conveyor, a stop positioned at the end of the signature receiving means remote from the receiving end, upper and lower feed rolls stationed at the receiving end of the signature receiving means, guide means for receiving the signatures from the conveyor and directing the folded edges thereof between the upper and lower feed rolls, the edges of the signatures on opposite sides of the fold hanging downwardly so as to straddle the lower feed roll as they pass between the feed rolls forming an inverted V-shape, the upper and lower feed rolls being tapered in complementary fashion to each other to engage the upper and lower surfaces of thte inverted V-shaped signatures on both sides of the fold line, means to drive at least one of the feed rolls at thte rate of speed necessary to discharge the signatures onto and across the signature receiving means with suflicient velocity to insure that the leading edges of the signatures come into contact with said stop, said stop registering the signatures on the signature receiving means.

10. Apparatus for handling signatures as set forth in claim 9 comprising driven feed roll-s above the signature receiving means, meansfor lifting the signatures from the signature receiving means and delivering them to the driven feed rolls, and deflector means guiding the signatures discharged from the feed rolls and determining the path of travel thereof.

11. Apparatus for handling folded signatures comprising an elongated support for receiving signatures thereon in straddling fashion, upper and lower driven friction Wheels tapered in complementary fashion, means for delivering signatures between the friction wheels with the edges of the signatures on opposite sides of the fold line hanging downwardly in inverted V-shape, thereby straddling opposite sides of the lower friction wheel as they pass between the friction wheels, the upper friction wheel having a tapered recess and the lower friction wheel having a tapered projection to engage the upper and lower surfaces of the signatures on both sides of the fold line, means for mounting the lower friction wheel at the receiving end of the support and at least partially beneath the upper surface of the support, a pivotal arm for supporting the upper friction wheel, drive transmissions for said upper and lower friction wheels, part of said drive transmission to the upper friction wheel being carried by said pivotal arm, whereby the upper friction wheel may be pivoted away from the lower friction wheel while maintaining the drive transmission thereto, and a stop at the far end of the support, the signatures being discharged edgewise by the rotating friction wheels across the elongated support into contact with the adjustable stop, thereby registering the signatures on the horizontal support. I

12. Apparatus for handling signatures as set forth in claim 11 wherein the upper friction wheel is formed in two parts, and comprising a common shaft for supporting the two parts of the friction wheel, and a gear mounted on said shaft between the two parts of the friction wheel.

13. Apparatus for handling folded signatures comprising a support for receiving the folded signatures at one,

end thereof in inverted V-shaped fashion such that the edges on opposite sides of the fold hang downwardly, rotatable feed rolls supported above the support, signature lifting means positioned beneath the upper surface of the support when the signatures are received by the support, means for raising the signature lifting means to present the signatures between the rotatable feed rolls, deflector means shiftable to determine the path of travel of the signatures discharged from the feed rolls, a sheet registering stop positioned at the end of the support remote from the receiving end thereof, and upper and lower feed rolls at the receiving end of the signature support, the outer peripheries of said upper and'lower feed rolls being tapered in complementary fashion to each other and to the inverted V-shaped signature therebetween to advance the leading edge of the signature across the signature support into contact with the sheet registering stop. 7

14. Apparatus for handling signatures comprising a conveyor for transporting folded signatures in straddling fashion thereon, signature receiving means for receiving the signatures thereon in straddling fashion delivered by the conveyor, said signature receiving means having a receiving end in proximity to the conveyor and an end remote from the conveyor, a stop positioned at the end of the signature receiving means remote from the receiving end, upper and lower feed rolls stationed at the receiving end of the signature receiving means, guide means for receiving the signatures from the conveyor and directing the folded edges thereof between the upper and lower feed rolls, the signatures straddling the lower feed roll as they pass therebetween, means to drive at least one of the feed rolls at the rate of speed necessary to discharge the signatures onto and across the signature receiving means with sufficient velocity to insure that the leading edges of the signatures come into contact with said stop, said stop registering the signatures on the signature receiving means, drive transmitting means, safety means actuatable to stop the operation of the machine, clutch means driven by the drive transmitting means, said clutch means being disengageable with said drive transmitting means, and. means controlled by the disengagement of said clutch means to actuate said safety means to stop the machine.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,217,092 Hopp Feb. 20, 1917 1,679,985 Mentges Aug. 7, 1928 2,138,645 Rey Nov. 29, 1938 2,369,794 Phinney et a1. Feb. 20, 1945 2,499,439 Winters Mar. 9, 1950 2,607,587 Belluche Aug. 19, 1952 2,736,431 Coleman et al Feb. 28, 1956 

